The 12 Cellists: Documentary

Since 1972, the ‘12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker’ have been a prominent institution on the international music scene. Whether they’re playing classical music, jazz, tango or avant-garde, listeners around the world are invariably fascinated by the wide range of the unique and intoxicating timbres that these twelve cellists can produce. Their mixture of seriousness and humor, of depth and lightness, appeals to audiences of all ages. Among the contemporary composers who have written works especially for “the 12” are Boris Blacher, Jean Françaix, Iannis Xenakis, Arvo Pärt, and Tan Dun. This documentary by Enrique Sánchez Lansch portrays the ensemble of the 12 Cellists, its history and its individual members.